Labyrinth
by Raita Amaya
Summary: Shuichi would do anything for his lover, but will he be able to save him when he's abducted by the glittery characters, and an extra cranky conure, of his new favorite book, "The Labyrinth"? A spoof of Jim Henson's wonderful 1980s movie.
1. Chapter 1

The Labyrinth

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth or Gravitation, just this story...so yeah...don't bother suing...my counterstrike will involve shoving Caspian in inappropriate places, and trust me, you really don't want that bird scuttling up your pant leg. Been there, done that, right in the middle of my nap. Stupid parrot...

So basically, don't sue unless you want to become well-acquainted with Caspian's beak.

* * *

Shuichi was in love; not with a person, not with an idea, but with a book. He'd never understood the pull of reading, and couldn't even get into his own lover's work, but this was something entirely different. Never before had he been so taken with an inanimate object, never before had his imagination been so utterly and entirely captured.

Its language was pure, its wording perfect, and Shuichi had immediately identified with the heroine. He gazed adoringly at the aged cover, the illustration of the antagonist glaring up at him. He stroked the book for a few minutes, basking in its glory, trying to find words amazing enough to describe his new love.

"THIS IS THE BEST BOOK EVER!" Shuichi yelled, flopping backwards onto his bed and rolling from side to side chaotically. "BEST! BOOK! EVER!"

He made a few strangled gurgling noises and reopened his love, intending to get past the first chapter.

"Shut it!" Yuki commanded from his study, getting up from his desk and slamming the door to his office in order to quiet the purring noises issuing from Shuichi's room. Some thought it strange that they didn't share a room, seeing as they'd been together for three years, but then again, these people had no idea what he had to live with. "Idiot…"

Yuki returned to his work, trying desperately to ignore Shuichi. He'd discovered the accursed book in a second hand shop that they'd wandered past on their way home from meeting Tatsuha for drinks. Since that fateful encounter, it'd been all Shuichi could talk about. It was an old fantasy novel, a play about some spoiled brat, a baby-stealing goblin, and some sort of magical maze. He'd never had much patience for such light-hearted fun.

"Labyrinth this, Labyrinth that…" Yuki muttered, the sarcasm dripping from every syllable. He hated trivial fantasy, and the idea that the one thing Shuichi would actually read was his hated enemy turned his stomach.

Yuki muttered incoherently under his breath and tried to go back to work, pushing all thoughts of a book burning party out of his head. He had a deadline to meet, and if he didn't get this one, his editor was likely to go off her nut. As much as he'd rather sleep, or distract his idiotic lover from the accursed book, he had no desire to die by his editor's hand. He cracked his neck and started typing, waiting for the good stuff to come pouring out. He worked silently for twenty minutes, cranking out sappy paragraph after sappy paragraph.

"Hey, Yuki?" Shuichi asked quietly, sliding into Yuki's office, his new love clutched tightly to his chest.

"What?" Yuki replied through gritted teeth. He'd just gotten into the flow of the chapter, and was working very hard to convince himself that Shuichi was worth keeping around. Shuichi must have innately sensed the danger, and immediately clammed up. "Shuichi, I'm working, what the hell do you want?"

"Need help with a word…"

"You serious?" Yuki asked, hoping against hope that he wasn't. When Shuichi kept staring at him without saying a word, Yuki sighed and pushed away from his desk. "Spell it."

"L…a…b…y…" Shuichi started, tracing the cover of the book with his finger.

"Labyrinth." Yuki answered, shaking his head and facing the waiting word document. He had so many little jabs to say, so many comments, but if he valued his relationship in the slightest, he had to keep his mouth firmly shut.

"Oh…so that's why Ryuichi didn't know what I was talking about…" Shuichi said, his face lighting up. "Thanks Yuki!"

Shuichi bounded over to Yuki and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He spun around a few times and then pranced out of the room, the book held high above his head.

Yuki waited until he was out of ear shot before he resumed his grumbling. Shuichi could get really offended really fast and he didn't want to start an unnecessary fight over a book. Shuichi would eventually find something else to fixate on, and Yuki wasn't too worried. Shuichi'd fallen for things like this before, and it always lasted less than a week. His attention span was much too short for his own good.

Yuki sighed and shook himself, reassuring his inner worrier that Shuichi wasn't about to change his patterns.

* * *

Three months later, however, he wasn't nearly so convinced. Shuichi had done nothing but talk about the Labyrinth for the last quarter of the year, and Yuki was slowly but surely going insane. After the first few weeks of it, he'd tried everything in his power to distract his hyper lover, but nothing had worked. Bribes, threatened violence, attempted and successful abandonment, begging, groveling, nothing.

Knowing his lover, the constant chatter wouldn't stop until he either lost the book or lost interest, and the latter wasn't looking very plausible. In the last week, he'd started forming plans of removing the dreaded object from their lives, but Shuichi slept with the damn thing tucked under his pillow. Shuichi took it to work with him to help with lyrical inspiration, he showered with it near, he ate with it at the table, it never, ever, not once, left his side. Yuki had even considered getting Tohma involved, but his pride wouldn't allow him to admit that he was being outsmarted by Shuichi and a book about goblins.

He sighed angrily and rolled off of the couch, refusing to sit and bemoan the existence of a book any longer. He was halfway through a peaceful, Labyrinth-less dinner when Shuichi burst in.

"THREE MORE CHAPTERS!"

"Indoor voice, we discussed this…" Yuki said mechanically. He'd had to say the same exact sentence every day for months, as Shuichi found it necessary to give him a Labyrinth-related status report daily.

"But!"

"I'm not getting evicted because of that…thing." Yuki said, amending his word choice at the last second to avoid getting something heavy hurtled at his head.

"Oh, it's worth it…" Shuichi drooled, hugging the now-battered book and spinning around in a few drunken circles. "It's the best thing ever, Yuki!"

"I'm not convinced…" Yuki muttered, clearing his plate and stomping back into the kitchen. "You find better material in filthy magazines than in that…"

"HEY! Be nice to the book, apologize to Jareth!"

"Who?" Yuki asked before he could help himself. Up until now, Shuichi had refrained from giving him any character or plot information, convinced that he would commence reading it immediately after he'd finished with it.

"The goblin king!" Shuichi squealed, catapulting across the dining room table and landing in the middle of Yuki. Once he'd seated himself comfortably on Yuki's squirming body, he cleared his throat and launched into an hour-long description of his favorite villain.

Yuki was seeing red by the end of Shuichi's overly detailed dissertation, and had to do several deep breathing exercises that he'd learned from his shrink.

"Isn't that the sweetest thing EVER?" Shuichi asked, his eyes glazing over at the thought of Sarah and Jareth's tragic romance.

"That's not romance, that's pedophilia…" Yuki returned, shoving Shuichi off of his lap and making a break for it.

"Yuki…" Shuichi whined, getting up and giving Yuki his best puppy dog look.

"Oh come on, Shuichi, it's about a goblin with an owl complex that steals babies from confused teenagers that take funny peaches from strangers! What do you want from me?" Yuki spat, losing his temper. "Don't even get me started on all the little freak show sidekicks!"

"APOLOGIZE TO DIDYMUS!" Shuichi cried, glaring at Yuki for insulting his book.

"NO!" Yuki roared, storming into his study and slamming the door. He slumped against his desk and sighed, a little out of sorts. He'd vowed to keep his cool and not to let the book beat him, but that clearly hadn't happened. "Dammit…"

After he'd given himself ample time to calm down, he got up and peeked out, wondering where Shuichi had run off to. As far as he knew, Hiro had banned him from coming over until he got over the evil book, and Ryuichi was out of town on a shoot. Yuki crept through the apartment, not wanting to startle Shuichi.

He eventually got around to checking Shuichi's bedroom, and guessed from the giggling that he was already back to reading. He sighed and shuffled off, deciding that sleep would help clear his mind.

Yuki woke up feeling completely disoriented. It was still dark outside, and someone was rattling around in his kitchen. He was almost sure it wasn't Shuichi, as his normal morning routine involved either loud cursing or singing depending on the hour, and he felt the need to be armed. He dug around for a large shoe and slunk down the hallway, trying to make out the perpetrator.

He stopped around the corner from the kitchen and took a deep breath, preparing to knock Tohma's block off for once again invading his apartment and cooking without asking. He charged around the corner with the shoe raised and ran smack into Shuichi's small figure.

"AHH!" Shuichi yelped, spinning around and slapping Yuki in the face with a dish towel. "GOBLIN!"

"Shuichi?" Yuki asked incredulously, noting that it was only five in the morning.

"GOBLIN!" Shuichi yelled again, brandishing a wooden spoon.

"Easy…" Yuki said slowly, advancing on the panic-stricken vocalist. "Not goblin, novelist…"

"Novelist…" Shuichi murmured, nodding slowly. Once the gears in his brain resumed their normal turning, he made the connection between novelist and novel and immediately switched back to his fan girl mode. He turned away from Yuki and took a few deep breaths to stay calm; he had to be focused this morning. He resumed making his breakfast, purposely avoiding his lover.

Yuki noticed the change in Shuichi's eyes and sighed, resigning himself to another conversation sprinkled with Labyrinth-related topics. He pulled out a chair from the table and sunk into it, keeping a good hold on the shoe in case he needed it later. He could always plead self-defense, any judge in their right mind would understand after hearing the facts.

Yuki flopped forward and put his chin in his hands, waiting for the inevitable. Now that Shuichi had given up the goose, he was sure to start lambasting him with worthless plot lines and horrid character development. He was still a little thrown off by the early hours, but then again, they had spent the night apart.

"Why so early?" Yuki finally asked, his curiosity overpowering his words.

"Work." Shuichi answered stiffly, turning his back deliberately on Yuki. His lover's words about his beloved had stung, and he was determined to stay mad for at least a day. Plus, he had some special plans with K and Hiro to get to. He huffed and clanged a few dishes for added effect.

"Work? Don't lie."

"Well…"

"Well, what?" Yuki pressed, wondering what Shuichi was up to. He never withheld information like this.

"YOU'RE A MEANIE!" Shuichi yelled suddenly, spinning around and throwing a fork at Yuki's startled face. "TAKE IT BACK!"

"Take what back, knock it off!" Yuki said, scrambling to get out of Shuichi's reach.

"Apologize to the book, Yuki!"

"I'll die first." Yuki snarled, glaring at Shuichi and holding his ground. "Just go to work."

"No!"

"Don't start something you can't finish." Yuki told Shuichi, cracking his knuckles and staring down at the shorter man.

"Apologize!" Shuichi ordered, standing his ground with a cereal bowl in hand. When Yuki started advancing, he dropped the bowl into the sink and half-ran, half-hopped over to the kitchen door and out of harm's reach.

"Shuichi…" Yuki warned, advancing.

"Fine, fine!" Shuichi shrieked, cowering when Yuki got within five feet of him. He knew exactly what Yuki was capable of, and he had no intention of letting that happen this early in the morning.

"Glad that's settled." Yuki responded politely, backing off and sitting down again. "Now go to work, I don't want that lunatic in here shooting holes in my coffee mugs again."

"I'm not going to work…" Shuichi muttered absentmindedly, upset over his defeat.

"Hmm?" Yuki asked, mentally slapping himself as soon as he did. He really had to get control over his mouth before he asked a question he would regret hearing the answer to.

"I…I…" Shuichi stuttered, shocked that he'd slipped up. He'd trusted that his bad mood would have kept Yuki away that morning, and now he'd gone and spilled the beans on himself. "Damn…"

"Spill." Yuki told Shuichi, starting to enjoy himself. Shuichi was normally hilarious, but when he cornered himself with his own stupidity, the resulting show was priceless.

"Play practice…" Shuichi mumbled, shuffling his feet and staring determinedly downward.

"Play…what?" Yuki asked, startled. After he'd taken a second to quiet all the snarky responses running rampant in his head, he continued. "Ah…so that's why you're up so early…"

"Mmm hmm…can I go now?" Shuichi said quickly, making a snatch for his messenger bag. He'd gotten the rest of the band to help him put on a play version of the Labyrinth in order to win Yuki over, and now his beautiful ploy was falling down around him.

"Nope, I'm not done with you…" Yuki replied, grabbing the bag before Shuichi's shorter arms could. He pulled it onto his lap, raising his eyebrows when Shuichi glared at him. "What play? Some promo for the band?"

Shuichi's eyes widened, and then slipped to the side. He couldn't believe it; Yuki, the smartest person he'd ever met, had just given him a way out of the interrogation.

"Yep!"

"Bullshit." Yuki stated, noticing the sudden lack of twitching from Shuichi. "Don't lie."

"I'm not!"

"Oh come on, a play for a band? No. Not even Ryuichi would think that was a good idea, and there's no way in hell Tohma would let K get away with that. This is about that damn book isn't it?"

"You're paranoid…" Shuichi whispered, nodding dramatically in hope of annoying Yuki to the breaking point. When that happened, he'd have a small window to escape before death occurred, and he was pretty sure that he could outrun his chain-smoking lover. It was the only option he had left.

"You're obsessed."

"You…" Shuichi started, unsure of how to finish. He knew a few of Yuki's bigger buttons, but he was terrified to push too far. He needed a place to live, after all. But, if he didn't get out of this, his grand surprise would be ruined. In the face of having his marvelous scheme brought down to the ground, he chose homelessness over failure. "You're just jealous of the book."

"Excuse me?" Yuki snarled, narrowing his eyes and stiffening up.

"Yeah, you're jealous. I spend so much time with it after all…" Shuichi pressed, sensing he hadn't gone quite far enough. "It's definitely replacing you…"

"Right…" Yuki said, smiling slightly. Shuichi was trying to rile him up, and had missed the target with his last little attempt. "That's exactly it…"

"Shit…" Shuichi whispered, wincing when Yuki started to chuckle. He had the right idea, but the wrong follow-through. He thought for a few seconds, and then it hit him. "Yep, jealousy."

"No, we covered that one, try a new tactic…" Yuki drawled, leaning back in his chair.

"You're jealous of the book, it's so obvious that it's better than yours." Shuichi said carefully, crafting his speech perfectly. "It's the ultimate romance, so sorry that you can't quite live up to it with your little…what should we call them…pamphlets."

"What the hell?" Yuki spat, trying to get up and toppling out of his chair instead. "I'M NOT JEALOUS OF THAT DAMN THING! I'M THE MOST WIDELY PUBLISHED-"

Yuki stopped himself mid-rant and noticed that both Shuichi and the messenger bag were long gone. The front door slammed a split second later and Yuki shoved the chair in front of him over.

"Damn him…" Yuki muttered, pulling himself off of the floor and stomping off to his room. If he'd been outsmarted by Shuichi, he clearly needed to sleep more.

* * *

Well, this was bound to happen eventually. The Labyrinth is one of my favorite movies, and I'm head over heels in love with Jareth. Thus my two Labyrinth cosplays…

Anyway, I wrote this for my friend, who now owes me a Labyrinth fanfic. She didn't think I'd really do it. She doesn't know much.

So, here we go. I'm not sure how this is going to go, where it's going to go, or what's going to happen along the way, but I do have my ending all figured out so I'll most likely finish it. I'm planning on writing this and the Aladdin sequel in conjunction, hopefully that works out.

Over and out guys,

Amaya and the soon-to-be-appearing-in-this-story Caspian


	2. Chapter 2

"You're late." K informed Shuichi when the latter burst into the room panting.

"Sorry, had some trouble getting away." Shuichi said on an exhale, collapsing into a chair. He'd had visions of black Mercedes' gunning him down all the way to the NG building, and he'd thrown a shoe at a black sedan, convinced it was Yuki out to get him.

"Is he here yet?" Hiro asked groggily, shuffling out of a practice room. "Oh."

"Sorry…" Shuichi apologized again, looking over his shoulder to make sure he hadn't been followed in.

"Let's just get his over with…" Hiro muttered, stretching. He nudged a lump on the floor until it started moving and then found a chair to drape himself in.

"MONSTER!" Shuichi screamed, throwing his remaining shoe at the lump.

"Shindou-san!" Suguru screeched, throwing off the blanket he'd burrowed into and hurling the shoe back at Shuichi. "Stop throwing things, we've had this conversation ten times this week!"

"Sorry…"

"Get a new word…and the rest of you, get some enthusiasm!" K sang out, twirling as he said the last part. "Let's start praaacticing!"

Suguru looked from face to face, trying to figure out what he should do. He could stay, and suffer for the duration of the fiasco, or he could make a run for it and risk being shot by K or tackled by Shuichi. He really didn't want to get injured over something as stupid as a play based on a silly fairy tale, but Shuichi was still out of breath and K was polishing his only visible weapon. He took a deep breath, said a final prayer, gulped, and then bolted pell-mell for the door.

"HEY!" K shouted, throwing his gun at Suguru without thinking.

"You have a gun, and you throw it?" Hiro asked, dazed. "Wow…"

"Aww, man, now who's gonna be Hoggle?"

"You had him cast as Hoggle?" Hiro inquired, shaking his head. He'd read the book a few years ago, and vaguely remembered the characters. He'd only agreed to help Shuichi after three hours of solid begging and some threatening by K. "That never would've worked out, it's probably best that he got away when he did."

"We still need a Jareth, too." K told everyone in attendance. "Any ideas?"

"No." Hiro replied automatically, letting his head droop onto his chest.

"I still think Ryuichi would be good." Shuichi suggested.

"No, best not to encourage him. You're Sarah after all." K replied, crossing off a few things on his clipboard.

"Encourage him?" Shuichi chirped, cocking his head. Behind him Hiro made shushing noises and made a slice across his throat with his hand. He'd tried to explain the situation to Shuichi, but the attempt hadn't gone over well.

"Oh, right…" K muttered, mentally slapping himself. Ryuichi had been infatuated with Shuichi for a while now, and the younger man was still completely oblivious. "It…could get ugly."

"Ugly? But Ryuichi's so sparkly!"

"Yes, but…"

"HI GUYS!" someone interrupted, throwing open the doors and immediately jumping onto Shuichi's lap.

"Good morning Ryuichi…" K said, sighing heavily.

"Speak of the devil." Hiro whispered, perking up. As tired as he was, he couldn't help but be interested in some Ryuichi-related drama. His attempts to flirt with Shuichi were always fun to watch.

"Morning!" Ryuichi said, kissing Shuichi on the cheek and smiling wide.

"Wanna be in a play?" Shuichi asked quickly, hugging Ryuichi and putting his head on his shoulder. "Huh, huh?"

"A play?" Ryuichi squealed, jumping off of Shuichi and dancing around with Kuma. "What play?"

"Oh dear…" K said on another sigh. "Here we go…"

"The Labyrinth!" Shuichi practically shouted, bobbing up to dance with Ryuichi.

"Oh no…" Hiro muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes. K should've known better than to try to pull off a production right under Ryuichi's nose.

"THE LABYRINTH?" Ryuichi screamed, bouncing uncontrollably while Shuichi tried, and failed, to keep up.

"I KNOW!" Shuichi responded enthusiastically, spinning.

"What have we done?" K asked Hiro dramatically, shaking his head and moving away from the insanity.

"I told you not to agree, I warned you." Hiro hissed at K, leaving his chair for the safety of a corner.

"And, and, and, I'm Sarah, and K's Ludo, and, and, and Hiro's, Hiro's Didymus!" Shuichi managed to spit out between spins and bounces.

"Wait…do I get to be who I think I get to be?" Ryuichi asked seriously, ceasing his celebratory dancing and grabbing Shuichi by the shoulders to make him focus.

"You're Jareth!" Shuichi answered after he processed Ryuichi's jumbled sentence.

"And your mother's a fraggin' aardvark!" Ryuichi responded, grabbing Shuichi and twirling him around.

"I love that part!" Shuichi squealed, starting to get lost in Labyrinth memories now that Ryuichi had opened the floodgates.

"This is going to be a long day…" K said to Hiro, sinking down to the floor. He'd started out the morning with such hope, such energy, but now that Ryuichi was involved, they were all doomed.

"No shit Sherlock." Hiro responded, putting his face in his hands. Ryuichi and Shuichi were an explosive duo without the help of a trippy fantasy, and he was wondering if anyone was going to live through the day, let alone the entire process of putting on a play.

"Alright, let's just get this over with." K told Hiro, pulling himself together and standing up. "Ladies, please!"

K clapped his hands a few times, trying to get the attention of the now-madly giggling singers.

"STOP THE GIGGLES!"

"But why?" Ryuichi asked sadly, wrapping his arms around Shuichi's waist from behind and giving K an evil grin. "It's so much fun, right Shu-chan?"

"Uh huh!" Shuichi affirmed, nodding wildly.

"Ok…moving on then." K said, clearing his throat and flipping through his clipboard paperwork. "First order of business…Tohma has officially approved our wardrobe budget, kudos to Hiroshi for getting him drunk enough to sign. Second, we now need someone to play Hoggle…any suggestions?"

"What about Tatsuha?" Ryuichi suggested, sitting down and pulling Shuichi backwards onto his lap. "He's real nice, he likes to play games."

"No, he's not allowed on NG property after last year's…incident." Hiro interjected, thinking back to Tatsuha's insane, and sometimes casualty-filled, ploys to win over Ryuichi.

"Then we'll just practice somewhere else." Ryuichi shot back, snuggling his face into Shuichi's neck.

"That tickles!" Shuichi shrieked, trying to squirm away. He'd never regarded Ryuichi's behavior as anything other than friendly. Yuki never did the things Ryuichi did, and he was sure that Hiro was off of his rocker.

"Ok, ok, anyone want to volunteer?" K asked, shrugging. He wasn't in the mood to argue with Ryuichi. "We're not taking this mess to my place, don't even think about it."

"My place is too small." Hiro answered immediately, unwilling to subject his peaceful retreat to Shuichi's grand vision.

"I'm remodeling, living with Tohma right now." Ryuichi said, ceasing his snuggling and tightening his grip on the wriggling Shuichi.

"My place works!" Shuichi said brightly, happy to help and relieved that Ryuichi had stopped his neck assault. He'd rather spoil his surprise than not put on the play at all, and they didn't have any other options. Never mind that being around Ryuichi had disabled all of his rational thought processes, as limited as they were.

The entire room went silent, and not even Ryuichi had something to say. K looked like he'd been smacked in the face repeatedly and Hiro had gone white as a sheet.

"Are you insane?" Hiro and K asked simultaneously.

"Nope!"

"Yeah, there's no way we're going there, Yuki-san might have a coronary." K said, shaking his head at Shuichi.

"I live there too! He can't make all the rules!" Shuichi squalled, crossing his arms and pouting at K.

"Who pays the rent?" Hiro asked, sliding out of his corner to torment his best friend.

"Yuki…"

"Who's name is on the lease?"

"Yuki's…"

"Who cooks?"

"Yuki…"

"Who cleans?"

"Yuki…" Shuichi affirmed again, sounding more defeated with each response.

"Who pays the bills?"

"Yuki…" Shuichi gasped out, giving Hiro his best sad face.

"Alright, enough, we get the picture. Yuki's Shuichi's sugar daddy. We still a need a place to practice if Tatsuha's going to join the cast." K said, successfully cutting off Hiro's teasing.

"Yeah, he is, I just texted him." Ryuichi piped up, mischievous grin in place.

"Great." K said sarcastically. "Well then, I s'pose we have to run the risk."

"K, you have no idea what you're saying, you can't, he'll kill us all!" Hiro yelled, smacking K on the shoulder. "Seriously, we won't make it out alive."

"It'll be fine, Hiro! He's grumpy and doesn't come out of his office much. He hates the Labyrinth, he won't bother us, promise." Shuichi said, trying to soothe Hiroshi.

"See, Hiro, just suck it up." Ryuichi said, walking over and clapping Hiro on the back. "Listen, I told Tatsuha to meet us there, let's pack up and get going."

"Sounds like a plan." K said, throwing the clipboard over his shoulder. Now that Ryuichi was taking charge, it would be much easier on him to just go with the flow. Whenever he and Kuma got excited about something, it was absolutely pointless to try to organize them or stand in opposition. "Move out troops!"

"Aye aye!" Shuichi cried out, saluting too enthusiastically and instead smacking himself in the face. He tumbled out of sight and the rest of the group started packing everything up.

"That was…" Hiro started, laughing quietly while he put his partially completed wardrobe assignment into a large bag.

"Special. The word you're searching for is special." K offered, gathering up all the lines and heading for the door.

"Yeah, perfect." Hiro added, grabbing his load and following after K. "Move it you two."

"Righto." Ryuichi said, nodding and pulling Shuichi off of the floor. He dusted off the frail man and dragged him out the door after Hiro.

* * *

"STOP KNOCKING!" Yuki bellowed at his front door, wondering who the hell would be calling at eight in the morning. "SHUT UP!"

"Then open the door!" Tatsuha responded in a cheery voice, continuing his incessant rapping on his older brother's door. "Rise and shine, aniki!"

"Tatsuha." Yuki said, glaring holes through his door. "Go away."

"Nope, I have to be in the play!" Tatsuha answered, leaning his forehead against the door.

"Play? What play?" Yuki snapped, sliding the deadbolt over and unlocking the door. He took a deep breath and opened the door, steeling himself for Tatsuha.

"Woah!" Tatsuha yelped, falling forward and taking Yuki down with him. "Oops…"

"Get the fu-"

"Uh oh, man time, nobody look!" K said loudly, peering around the corner. Unable to stand the prospect of Ryuichi driving or being trapped in a car with him for more than ten minutes, he'd demanded that they carpool and he'd driven like the wind. He figured that they'd have beaten Tatsuha, but he'd been wrong before. "Brotherly love, avert your eyes!"

"Shut it." Yuki told K, shoving Tatsuha off and getting up as quickly as possible. "What are you people doing here?"

He took a few seconds to glance around K and noticed the cowering pink-haired nuisance hiding behind a smiley Ryuichi.

"You."

"Yes?" Shuichi asked timidly, a little bit worried for his personal safety.

"Explain."

"Well…" Shuichi started, trying to figure out how to tell Yuki what was going on without actually telling him. Unfortunately, he'd used up all of his brilliance earlier that morning.

"We're here for play practice, move it or lose it." Ryuichi said, pushing past Yuki and pulling Shuichi along behind him.

"No, I don't think so." Yuki said, putting his hand against Ryuichi's forehead and holding steady. "You're not coming in here."

Ever since he'd caught wind from Tohma that Ryuichi was gunning for his lover, he'd gone out of his way to avoid the older singer, and when they had to see each other, he'd kept his distance for everyone's sake. It ate him up that Shuichi worked with him every single day and was too oblivious to see the threat, but he also knew that Shuichi would never let anything happen.

"Please?" Shuichi said softly, sidling up to Yuki and latching onto the arm that was holding Ryuichi back. Ryuichi was swinging his arms wildly in an attempt to get some momentum, but he wasn't getting anywhere.

"Not in front of company." Yuki hissed under his breath, shrugging Shuichi off and accidentally loosing Ryuichi, who was in the middle of running full-speed against his palm.

"Free!" Ryuichi yelled when Yuki moved his hand, and trundled forward, becoming the second person to bring Yuki down that morning.

"That's it, get OUT!" Yuki yelled, getting up with Ryuichi still on him and shooing everyone out of the apartment. "Seriously, get lost!"

"But…" Shuichi started to say before he was drowned out by Yuki's ensuing rant.

"NO! You and that damn book have gone far enough! This play isn't for the band, you are a terrible liar, it's about that stupid story and I'm SICK OF IT!" Yuki bellowed, prying Ryuichi off of his waist and tossing him towards the hall where K and Hiro were hiding out. "This is ridiculous, Shuichi, don't you see that?"

"But it was for you! The play, I mean…" Shuichi stammered, unused to Yuki getting this upset.

"Honestly? Come on, how thick are you? You parading around in a dress and him strapping on a frizzed out wig is not going to make anyone, let alone me, appreciate that written-by-a-strung-out-three-year-old volume of idiocy!"

"Oh dear…" Tatsuha muttered, seeing the look on Shuichi's face. He grabbed Ryuichi to use as a shield and started backing out of the apartment. If someone was going to die, it wasn't going to be him.

"Fine." Shuichi said firmly, turning around on his heel and stomping out of the apartment. He slammed the door behind him and left Yuki standing in the entryway, frothing like a rabid coyote.

"That was interesting…" K said lightly, trying to break the overwhelming tension in the hallway.

"I wish he could love it like I do…"

"Well, not everyone likes what everyone else likes." Hiro told Shuichi, hoping to be of some comfort.

"No, I get that, I just wish he'd understand how much it means to me. I love this book, it feels like I'm there, like I know the characters, and he constantly insults it." Shuichi said at warp speed, emotions pouring out every which way.

"Yeah, well, you know how he is, you should have limited your discussion of it." Tatsuha said, glaring at the fact that Ryuichi was stroking Shuichi's hair.

"I guess…"

"I can still hear you people! Get out of my hallway!" Yuki yelled from inside the apartment, throwing a pillow at his front door. "And you, shut up already about the stupid book!"

"IT'S NOT STUPID!" Shuichi bellowed back, his calm reserve finally snapping. He'd put up with Yuki's veiled and not-so-veiled insults, but this was the final straw.

"OK, let's get out of here." Hiro said, a tone of finality in his voice. "Move, now."

He grabbed K by the ponytail, Ryuichi by the Kuma, and gestured to Tatsuha that he should follow.

"See you tomorrow man." Hiro called out to Shuichi as he disappeared down the hall and around the corner. He didn't want to get caught in the middle of another Yuki fight, especially when it centered on a fantasy novel about whiny teenagers and horny mythical kings.

"Whatever." Shuichi replied, kicking the locked door to his apartment.

"I don't care that you're obsessed with a book, just pick one worth obsessing over." Yuki said from the safety of the apartment, fully aware of the war he was most likely starting.

"It's my favorite book! It's my soul!" Shuichi cried, angry tears obscuring his vision. "It's my life!"

"Then you need to get a new one." Yuki suggested, smirking to himself.

"You know what?" Shuichi asked, sniffing back the tears.

"What?"

"I wish the goblins really would take you away…right now." Shuichi stated, realizing that his words were ridiculous but meaning them all the same. Yuki had really hurt his feelings, and he had no other means of retaliation.

His words went unanswered for several minutes, and Shuichi couldn't tell if Yuki was laughing at him or if he'd wandered off after the pathetic attempt at a barb.

"Yuki?" Shuichi called after a few more minutes of silence. "You still there?"

Again, his words were met with silence.

"Eiri? Seriously, I'm starting to get worried, what's going on?" Shuichi said, starting to panic. "Okay, that's it, this isn't funny anymore."

Shuichi pounded on the door a few times, and nothing happened. Yuki didn't tell him to shut up, didn't open the door to smack him, nothing. Shuichi shook his head and backed up, steeling himself for his next move. He charged the door with the intent of breaking it down, and instead bounced off and smacked his head on the opposite wall. He fell over, stunned, and then the blackness set in.

* * *

Great…now that it's two chapters long, it's pretty much official that I will be finishing this story. It started out as a one-shot dare, and well…I'm excitable. *sigh*

Hope anyone that's reading this silly thing is getting as much of a kick out of it that I am.

Thanks for reading,

Amaya


	3. Chapter 3

"Still there…" Yuki muttered, listening at his door. He could hear Shuichi out there, sighing and sporadically cursing.

He'd been waiting his lover out for the better part of three hours, and he was starting to think that he was playing a losing game. Shuichi seemed like he was in it to win it, and wouldn't be ferreting off any time soon. Yuki sighed and slumped against the wall, unsure of his next move. After Shuichi's ridiculous threat, he was unwilling to let him back into the apartment in case he really did try to summon a goblin to kidnap him. He was a monk, sure, but there was only so much he could do against glitter.

There was also the sentiment behind Shuichi's words to be concerned about. If he was willing to wish him away over a book, then something had to give. He wasn't about to be replaced by a book, and even though he'd failed in every single attempt to separate it from his lover, the time had come for drastic action. If he had to call Tohma, so be it. He pushed away from the wall and started pacing around the living room, trying to decide on the best method for liberating Shuichi from the evil book.

An hour later, Shuichi was still camped outside the apartment, and he was far from any good ideas, short of assaulting his lover and stealing the book in the aftermath.

"It would work…" Yuki said under his breath. "But then I'd go to jail…"

He thought that over for a few beats, weighing both sides. After a couple seconds, he couldn't decide which was worse: that he was willing to go to jail over a book, or that he couldn't think of a better idea. He shook his head, hard, trying to clear his mind. He couldn't get arrested over it, and he didn't want to hurt Shuichi that bad anyway. He wasn't above using that tactic to momentarily distract him, but he wasn't going to beat the kid unconscious because he was more in love with a novel than with him. He stopped pacing and pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing what was coming next. He sighed resignedly and took out his cell phone.

"Tohma?" Yuki said when the other line picked up. "I need some help."

"Are you alright?" Tohma asked, immediately concerned. "Do you need me to come over there and comfort you? I'll be right there, MIKA!"

"NO! I don't need you here! Tohma, no! Stay there." Yuki spluttered, not sure how he'd managed to forget the recent upswing in Tohma's infatuation.

"Fine…what's wrong then?" Tohma replied, a little more than put out.

"It's about Shuichi…"

"What'd he do? Want me to fire him? Make him disappear?"

"Tohma."

"Yes?"

"Calm the hell down. He…" Yuki paused, trying to find the right words to tell his brother-in-law that his lover, who had the mentality of a five year old on a good day, was outsmarting him.

"He what, Eiri?" Tohma said, serious now that he could hear the tone change in Yuki's voice.

"He tried to wish me away to some goblins." Yuki spat out, fully aware of how ridiculous he sounded.

"Did you take your pills this morning?" Tohma asked, sighing.

"No."

"Maybe you should. Maybe you should take a few extra…" Tohma suggested, rolling his eyes. As much as he loved Eiri, he really could be a walking blond moment.

"Tohma, that's it!" Yuki yelled into the phone, suddenly caught up in the moment. He could visualize his life without the book, and it was bliss. He had his way out, and he was going to run with it before sanity and reason kicked in. He hung up the cell phone and threw it on the couch, running into his study to get supplies. "Perfect…"

* * *

"Yuki! This is getting old!" Shuichi yelled, kicking the door. "Open up or tell me to leave! Do something!"

Shuichi kicked the door again and returned to the floor, glaring at the apartment the entire time. Yuki was driving him crazy. He'd never acted this way before, and he didn't know how to handle it. He was starting to get twitchy, and he'd almost worked himself into a frenzy. From now on, he was going to glue a key to himself.

"Argh…" Shuichi sighed, fighting the urge to keep kicking the door. He was so frustrated, and he didn't know how to stop it. He hated that he and Yuki were fighting over a book. He hated that he'd been kicked out of their apartment, again. "Next time I get to kick you out!"

"What?" Yuki said, opening the door and staring at Shuichi. "Something wrong?"

"Huh?" Shuichi murmured, startled for a moment.

"Why are you still out here?" Yuki asked, raising an eyebrow and watching Shuichi carefully. "The door was unlocked, dumbass."

"No it wasn't! I tried it!" Shuichi argued, almost jumping up and down.

"Shuichi…we talked about this. Do I need to show you how to open a door…again?" Yuki said slowly, pursing his lips and shaking his head.

"I know how to open a door."

"Not sure you do…"

"Yuki."

"Shuichi."

"Take it back!"

"Take what back? My generous offer of help?"

"You're impossible!" Shuichi finally shouted, reaching his limit of abuse.

"All I did was tell you that the door was unlocked." Yuki offered, shrugging and walking back into the apartment. He was about to burst out laughing at the look on his lover's face, but he was too close to his plan succeeding to let it get the better of him.

"Don't walk away from me, I'm not done with you!"

"Not walking away, just making sure you know how to walk through the door, seeing as you don't know how to open one. Thought you might need a demonstration." Yuki replied, leaning against the kitchen counter and smirking at Shuichi. He was dying on the inside, but he'd have plenty of time to crack up later, especially once he lit the damned book on fire.

"Stop it!" Shuichi shrieked, fighting back the tears. He was used to Yuki picking on him, he did it often enough, but there was venom behind it today. He couldn't help but think that this was brought on because of his juvenile wish. "Please…"

"You sure? You really want me to stop? You know what those words mean?"

"Yuki…"

"Fine." Yuki said, staying still and watching Shuichi. He had to time everything just right to avoid suspicion. For a moment, the realization that this was pretty normal behavior for him made him feel queasy, but he pushed it aside to focus.

"I shouldn't have wished you away…"

"And you shouldn't expect me to ever read, or like, that stupid excuse for a book." Yuki spat quickly, making sure that Shuichi got the impact of his words.

"That's…fine…no. It's not…that's not fair, Yuki! You have to give it a chance!"

"The only thing I have to do is die." Yuki responded quickly, glaring daggers and almost losing his concentration.

" Yuki!" Shuichi whined, balling up his fists and glaring back at his lover. "You're such a jerk!"

"Yeah, so?"

"I take it back! I meant it! I meant it! I wish they would take you away! I'm so sick of you being so mean to me! I…I…I hate it!" Shuichi screamed, eyes popping.

Yuki paused and watched Shuichi for a few beats, trying to look contemplative. His plan was so close to working and he didn't want to risk it falling apart. He stopped pushing Shuichi and stayed quiet a little longer, waiting for the younger man to make the next move.

"What? Nothing left to insult me about?"

"Plenty left, just don't feel like it anymore." Yuki responded, shrugging. He stretched and turned towards the kitchen, watching Shuichi out of the corner of his eye.

"Eiri…" Shuichi said, his anger breaking as fast as it had come. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he fought hard against them. He hated losing fights like this, and this time it was more painful than usual.

"Alright, alright, I'm…sorry." Yuki said, almost choking himself on the last word. "Come here."

"No…" Shuichi said softly, hugging himself and taking a step back.

"Shuichi, come on. It's over now, I'm done. I promise, I'll lay off." Yuki told Shuichi, willing himself to be sincere.

"I…" Shuichi stammered, not sure if he should tackle Yuki and enjoy the reprieve, or stay aloof and give himself some space.

"Fine. Stay there. You want some tea?" Yuki asked offhandedly, not wanting to be pushy.

"OK…" Shuichi answered after a couple seconds of silence. If Yuki said it was over, it was over, whether he was done or not. Even though Yuki'd apologized, he was still ruffled up after the attack on his book. "It's not that bad of a book, Yuki…"

"Dammit, drop it already." Yuki snapped, turning his back on Shuichi to make the tea. He pulled out his prescription bottle for Valium, and put his normal dose into a tea cup. If Shuichi wasn't awake, then he couldn't defend the accursed book. Tohma had given him the wonderful idea, and despite the ill ethics involved, he was going to run with it. True, if he'd just take the pills himself, he'd probably be a lot calmer about the whole thing, but that was way beside the point. He stirred the hot tea and made sure that the pills dissolved before plastering on a tight smile and turning to face his doomed lover. "Here."

"Thanks." Shuichi mumbled, avoiding making eye contact.

He knew it was useless to keep fighting Yuki, but he felt like he couldn't drop it all together. He was still mad that Yuki thought him so trivial, and thought that he could push him around like that, especially over something that was so important to him. Yuki knew exactly what the book, what the story, meant to him, and he was being blatantly derogatory towards it. He sighed and sipped his tea, repeating his wish over and over in his head. He didn't want the goblins to keep Yuki forever, but if they took him to the Underground and he got to see how amazing it was, maybe he'd at least stop being so mean about everything, once he got over being wished away.

"Tea alright?" Yuki asked, grabbing himself a few crackers to snack on.

"Yeah, it's great. Thanks, Yuki." Shuichi said tersely, sighing lightly. He'd resolved himself to keep up the fight, and that was that. He wasn't going to push it now, but he wasn't going to roll over next time Yuki came after him, or the book, like that. He took a few more drinks of the tea, and felt his eyes getting heavier and heavier. He knew that having fights with Yuki tired him out, but this was happening much faster than it normally did. He yawned, and shook his head, trying to stay awake.

"I have some work to do, I'll see you later." Yuki told Shuichi, barely able to contain his excitement. The meds were working their magic, and he was ecstatic. He felt a little bit guilty about drugging the only person that he really loved, but sacrifices had to be made if the book was going to quit his life.

He exited the main room quickly and locked himself into his study where he could celebrate in peace. He broke out with a huge grin and sank into his chair, content with the world. In a matter of minutes, Shuichi would be dead to the world, and he could end the book in whatever manner he saw fit. He resisted the urge to do something embarrassing like a victory dance, or fist pumping, and settled on soft maniacal laughter. When he had composed himself, he peeked out of his door to see Shuichi settled at the dining room table, struggling to get a response out.

"Right…see you later…" Shuichi mumbled from the table, about to fall face first into his tea. "Night, Yuki…"

Before he could make it to a sleeping surface, or even move his tea, Shuichi face-planted onto the table, splattering the tea all over himself. Yuki clapped a hand over his mouth to keep quiet, and waited for Shuichi to start snoring before he crept forward and cleaned up the tea mess. He was on a mission, sure, but he wasn't about to leave his immaculate kitchen in shambles.

When he was done cleaning, he picked Shuichi up and carried him over to the couch, settling him onto the cushions. He kissed him lightly on the forehead and covered him up with a quilt, sighing contentedly. Soon he'd have his lover all to himself again, and it was going to be fantastic. Once he knew that Shuichi was comfortable, he started prowling around for the book. He had no idea where the lunatic had stashed it, but he knew that it had to be in the apartment. He wouldn't have left it at work, that was for sure. He stopped when he spotted the messenger bag leaning against the wall, next to the front door.

"Bingo." Yuki said, striding over to the bag and reaching inside. When his fingers felt the book, he almost burst into tears. He pulled out the book and held it up, eyes alight. He walked into the kitchen and pulled out his favorite lighter and a butcher knife. "Hello there, devil book…let's play a game…Dante's Inferno or Common Kitchen Accidents first?"

* * *

When he came to a few hours later, the apartment was completely unlit, and the curtains were pulled against the afternoon sun. The last thing he remembered was drinking the tea and falling asleep on the table. He yawned and looked around the apartment, wondering why Yuki had all the lights out. He stood up and stretched, wondering if Yuki was trying to be romantic or energy conserving, and turned his attention to the door to Yuki's study. It was closed, and it was covered in glitter.

"What the hell?" Shuichi whispered, wondering why Yuki would have done such a thing.

He walked forward slowly, reaching out to the door. When he touched it, it swung open, and he shrieked.

"I thought you locked this…" Shuichi said once he'd composed himself, wondering what could possibly be going on. Yuki never left the door unlocked if he was working, and he rarely left it so even if he wasn't.

Shuichi walked into the room and looked around, trying to make sense of what was happening. The study was completely dark, like the rest of the apartment, and there was glitter on every imaginable surface. Shuichi gulped and backed out, hoping against hope that Yuki didn't end up blaming him for this mess; the crotchety neat freak hated glitter.

"Eiri?" Shuichi called, walking back into the front room. Yuki would never have left the apartment without locking up his study, and he usually at least left a note if he was going out. Shuichi reached up and patted his forehead to make sure one wasn't taped to it, and sighed when he found nothing. "Yuki?"

He walked into to the kitchen and checked in the larger cabinets and the oven, wondering if Yuki was having a five year old moment and trying to scare him. After he'd determined that the kitchen was empty, he checked the rest of the apartment, leaving Yuki's bedroom for last.

"Maybe he got a migraine…" Shuichi mused aloud, thinking it must have been one hell of a headache for Yuki to flip out and glitter his precious retreat.

The window over the bed was wide open when Shuichi walked into the room, and the sunlight was pouring in. He inched closer to the bed, looking around nervously. If Yuki was doing all of this to mess with him, the man had either finally gone crazy or taken too many pills again. He diligently searched the room, but Yuki was nowhere to be found.

"He has to be here…" Shuichi muttered, stopping and scratching his head.

The only place he hadn't look was under the covers, but he knew for a fact that Eiri was too big of a guy to conceal himself under there. If only to quiet his curiosity, he grabbed the edge of the comforter and threw it back.

"AHHH!" Shuichi shrieked, jumping back from the bed with a look of horror etched across his face. There was something in Yuki's bed.

After the initial panic passed, he edged closer to the bed and verified that the thing inhabiting Yuki's bed wasn't going to eat his face. When the creature didn't snarl and jump out of the bed thirsting for his blood, Shuichi sighed in relief and examined the intruder. It turned out to be a pink rabbit sporting a jaunty red bowtie. Shuichi cocked his head and puzzled over why Yuki was sleeping with a stuffed animal.

"Maybe that's why I can't sleep in here anymore, didn't want to share the rabbit with me…" Shuichi muttered, numb from the weirdness. Yuki had never acted like this before, and Shuichi never would've expected to find a stuffed rabbit in his bed, especially not a fashionably dressed pink one. "Whatever…"

Shuichi scooped up the rabbit and headed for the door, deciding that his lover had gone off the deep end and that if he ever found Yuki, they were definitely going to talk about the rabbit.

"HEY! THAT'S MINE!" someone screamed, rattling the window panes in the bedroom and the rest of the apartment.

Shuichi spun around, frantically searching for the source of the commotion. A stranger was in the apartment, and he was panicking like no other. With Yuki missing in action, there was no one there to protect him from rabbit-loving invaders.

"Put him down!" the voice commanded, making Shuichi's blood run cold.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry…" Shuichi said softly, his eyes wide. He had his back to the window, and as he gingerly set the rabbit down on the bed, he could feel a breeze blowing in from the outside. He looked over his shoulder slowly and had to use all of his self-control not to scream bloody murder at what he saw.

There was a man standing in the window, clearly enjoying himself now that the rabbit had been returned to the bed. He was leaning jauntily against the window pane, and when he saw Shuichi's startled expression, he smirked and crossed his arms, waiting for the shocked vocalist to make the first move.

"Who…what?" Shuichi barely managed, the character in front of him throwing him off. The creature, as Shuichi was pretty sure he wasn't human, was wearing extremely tight-fitting pants and was cloaked in a sparkly purple cape with a matching shirt. He could see a pile of glitter forming on the floor, and he was secretly glad that Yuki was missing. If he knew what state his carpet was in, he would most likely end up in the hospital. "Wait…oh my god…"

"Hmmm?" The creature smirked, cocking his head.

"JARETH?" Shuichi shrieked, pretty sure he knew what was going on now. His wish had come true, and Yuki had been spirited away by baby stealing goblins.

"No…my name's Ryuichi…" the glitter fiend answered, looking slightly offended that some loony named Jareth had stolen some of his thunder.

"Ryuichi?" Shuichi repeated, puzzling over the name. It sounded hauntingly familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Do I know you?"

"Nope." Ryuichi answered, smiling wide and swinging himself out of the window and onto the bed. He scooped up the rabbit and hugged it, rocking himself back and forth.

"Ummm…" Shuichi said, biting his lower lip. He stared at Ryuichi, waiting for some kind of explanation. He had no idea what was going on, or why some part of him was sure he knew the maniac sitting in front of him, but he wanted some answers. When Ryuichi made no move to explain himself after a few minutes of silence, he couldn't take it anymore. "What are you doing here?"

"You summoned me, duh!" Ryuichi answered, rolling his eyes. "Silly."

"Summoned? Like I called you on the phone?" Shuichi asked, getting more confused by the second. He felt like he was trapped in a dream. It looked like some whacked out Jareth cosplayer had broken into the apartment and vandalized everything, and Yuki had most likely lost his mind when faced with the copious amounts of glitter.

"Wow…this is a first." Ryuichi said, furrowing his brow. Most people that called on his array of goblin assistants knew exactly what was happening when they met him. "You wished someone away, didn't you?"

"Wha?" Shuichi breathed, taking a second and looking down at his feet. He still wasn't sure if the thing standing in front of him was some sort of drugged up prankster or the real deal.

"When you say that you want my goblins to take someone away, they usually do it…" Ryuichi said to no one in particular, shrugging. He was starting to get bored with the new kid, but a job was a job, and the rabbit would be upset if he got too distracted.

"But that's just a story…" Shuichi said, shooting Ryuichi a shocked look. "You're kidding, right?"

"Story? Not a story…Kuma, is it a story?" Ryuichi said to the ceiling, and then to his rabbit.

"Oh my god…" Shuichi murmured, starting to really freak out. His dreams had come true, the Labyrinth was real. Part of him had known it all along, deep down, but actually seeing the proof in front of him had him completely frazzled. He stared up at Ryuichi with his mouth hanging open, trying to decide if he wanted to tackle him or have a heart attack.

"So, you wish anyone away lately, or did I get the wrong house again?" Ryuichi piped up, interrupting Shuichi's moment.

"Not sure…" Shuichi answered softly, mumbling. He took a moment to think through his day, and then it hit him; Yuki. "Oh no!"

"Making sense now?" Ryuichi asked, his tone playful.

"Yuki…crap." Shuichi said, sinking onto the floor. It was all rushing back to him now, and he was filled with regret. He'd wished away his lover to a bunch of glitter loving goblins. "Wait…so you're the goblin king?"

"Right…I was supposed to say that, wasn't it?" Ryuichi asked, more to Kuma than to anyone else. He cleared his throat and struck an impressive pose on the bed. "I'm Ryuichi, King of the Goblins!"

Shuichi was silent for once, and sat staring at Ryuichi, mesmerized by the horror of the pants.

"Well…I guess I'll be going now..." Ryuichi said after a few minutes, still in his pose. "I took the guy, no problem, I'll see you around. Kuma says bye too."

"Huh?" Shuichi said, still dumbstruck by Ryuichi's tights. "Wait! Yuki! No, you have to give him back, I was joking, I didn't think you were real!"

"Not real? How can I not be real? Kuma, am I real?" Ryuichi said, obviously distressed.

"I thought it was just a story…with Jareth…and Sarah…" Shuichi tried to explain to a deaf audience, as Ryuichi was too busy pinching himself to verify that he was real.

"I dunno what you're talking about, I'm the goblin king." Ryuichi said, hopping around on the bed and conjuring more glitter to further prove his reality. "See? I have magic! I'm real, you're thinking of some story, like you said…"

"I guess…" Shuichi said finally, giving himself a headache. A lot of stories were based on reality, and now that he was faced with the reality of his great love, he was more than a little concerned. "But what about Yuki? It was a mistake, I need him back…"

"Can't have him back, he's my new friend!" Ryuichi said, ceasing his hopping to cross his arms and pout at Shuichi.

"But…"

"Nope! Mine now!"

"I need him! Please, you have to give him back!" Shuichi shouted at Ryuichi, getting off of the floor and resisting the urge to cry. The more he talked to this Ryuichi, the more he came to accept that it was real. He'd seen the magic, after all. He'd read the story, he knew what was going to happen now. The writer must have had the same thing happen to them. He shuddered, and squared his shoulders, ready for whatever this version of the fearsome goblin king had to throw at him.

"I don't wanna!"

"Please…"

"Well…"

"What if I play with you instead?" Shuichi offered, stumbling into a moment of clarity.

"Hmmm…yeah! Let's play hide 'n' seek! I've hidden your Yuki, and you have to find him!" Ryuichi shrieked, forming the game as he spoke.

"Alright…" Shuichi affirmed, starting to get excited in spite of his worry; Ryuichi was contagious.

"And…and…and if you don't find him in time, I keep him!" Ryuichi managed to finish, twitching with barely contained excitement.

"How much time do I get?" Shuichi asked quickly, hoping that he could find Yuki in time. This seemed like his only option now that Ryuichi was so geared up for it.

"Hmmm…pick a number between one and twenty…" Ryuichi suggested, stroking his chin, and Kuma's.

"Thirteen!" Shuichi shouted without thinking.

"Alrighty, thirteen hours!" Ryuichi chimed, spinning around on the bed and making glitter go everywhere.

"Thirteen hours? Just to find someone?" Shuichi said, gasping. He looked at Ryuichi in wide-eyed astonishment and then remembered his story. "Crap…"

"To the labyrinth!" Ryuichi sang out, twirling his cloak around and making the room disappear.

Shuichi instinctively ducked for cover, and when he looked up, the apartment had vanished and he was standing in a field, next to Ryuichi.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Ryuichi said, beaming. He was proud of his land, and he loved it when new people came to play with him. "See you in thirteen!"

"Wait, give me a hint!" Shuichi yelled out, but Ryuichi had disappeared before he could finish the first word. "Yuki…"

He looked around, and his worry only increased. The story version of the labyrinth was bad enough, and now that he had met the real goblin king, he was terrified of what he was going to find inside the maze. He sighed and started walking towards a large gate, telling himself that he had to fix what he'd started. Yuki was probably mad as a hornet and going insane trapped inside with Ryuichi and Kuma.

* * *

Well…here it is. I almost didn't make the deadline, as I finished this the night before I needed to post it, but by some small music related miracle, here it is. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

-Amaya

Special thanks to my editor, she's doing a much better job than the parrot. He throws things at me. *shudders*


End file.
